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Updated on
March 31, 2010,
E.B.
asks from Amarillo, TX
on
March 30, 2010

Homeschooling - Amarillo,TX

Ok through all the conflicts and hassels the school has given on my special needs daughter I have decided to take my kids in 1st grade and kindergarten out of the public school system. At this point in time the school is doing no good at all for my special needs daughter in first grade. I know they only have 45 days left but I need to do this now not wait.

How do i need to go about taking them out of the school?

Any suggestions on curriculm for next year?
Right now I have spectrum curriculm.
Thanks for all the help!

So What Happened?™

Well come to find out that there is other issues that have not been taken care of so I have contacted the higher ups and will be discussing it with them of what has happened and what I expect of this. If it all works out my kids can stay till the end of the year if it doesnt then a lawyer will be involved more then likely.

Featured Answers

M.D.
answers from Tulsa
on
March 31, 2010

Chrystine A, are you serious when you say that a homeschool mom cannot provide all that the school system can? Do you homeschool? I did it for 10 years and I can honestly tell you that apples to apples my kids got everything a ps kid did and much much more.

More Answers

T.O.
answers from Chicago
on
March 30, 2010

I am not a home schooling mom, but I was a teacher before staying home and try to do "school time" with my kids. I started selling Usborne books and through them have found these wonderful sets called, "Ten Terrific Weeks." There are 5 sets (themes) for preschool/early elementary. The sets include 10 weeks worth of activites and skills. The sets are around $6.95 each, but the books are sold seperately. If you visit the website you can see exactly what is included: which themes are offered, what skills are covered, etc.

If you take a look at the website...on the left hand near the bottom choose "Ten Terrific Weeks." I'd suggest 1st looking at Adventures on Apple Tree Farm. Once you look at it it will tell you what it includes, but if you click on "Ten Terrific Weeks for more information" it will then give you the 5 themes for preschool/early elementary. Click on one of those and it will show you the skills, the books, etc. These are good sets and really help the kids learn while having fun. The books are great quality and come with so many things to make learning a special time with you.

As Ilovemykids said... Tx is super easy legality-wise (EVERY state has different HS laws)... but in Tx all you have to do is unenroll them, at ANY time. No timeframes, testing, academic plans, or bureaucratic hoops to jump through in any way. ((All my friends is Tx *gloat* about how easy it is :)) So it's as easy as putting on a big smile and signing them out. NO ONE has the legal right in Tx to tell you otw. Read through that link she gave you.

http://groups.yahoo.com (tons and tons of great groups out there, local ones for fieldtrips... to national ones for special needs / 2e/ gifted/... curriculum groups/ hs philosophy groups... religious/ secular... 10s of thousands of us on hundreds of groups. Here are a few specific ones you might be interested in... but there are a LOT more out there :)

As far as curriculum goes, that's another matter :) I tend to think of curriculum as the "fun" part... because we ALL use different curriculum. For our (adhd) family we do about a 40/40 split between montessori and charlotte mason... with the other 20% being totally eclectic (like "Minimus, the Mouse that Made Latin Cool!" for latin, ClueFinders for some of our math stuff, NetFlix's amazing documentaries - everything from Walking with Dinosaurs from the BBC to H's The Universe, to Engineering an Empire... tons of amazing things). You'll find most of us with special needs or gifted kids tend to be on the eclectic scale, because the whole "school in a box" thing just doesn't work for *most* of us (of course, it works for some, just not most).

And... because I'm feeling all perky this morning (and all I have to do is cut and paste ;)... here's some of the curriculums we use. Use anything for idea generating... not a "should be" kind of thing. Like I said we ALL do different things. Finding what works best for each family is one of the most amazing gifts of HS.

If this all sounds super-busy/ kinda over overwhelming/ expensive... know that on average we do 4 hours of school a day... a lot of play... and spend around $100 - $200 a month tops, and many months we spend nada. So it's all actually really relaxing. LOL... actually we don't even usually get UP until 930ish most days, and school starts typically around 1030.

I am not sure about your school district but in ours you have to notify them before sept 1st of that school year if you are going to homeschool. you might be better off waiting till the summer to start homeschooling. Let um get through the year then don't register them for next year.

if you pull them right now will that teach them if something gets hard to just give up?

You just go to the office and unenroll them, they will ask why, what shcool will they be going to. Just tell them you will be homeschooling them. Thats all I did when I took my son out of kinder. You have to withdraw them though, you cant just stop taking them to school. I included a link and a clip of what the web site says.

You are not required to file any papers or notify anyone that you are homeschooling your children in Texas. If they are already enrolled in a public school, you can tell the school's office that the child is going to be homeschooled or is going to be attending a private school. In Texas, a homeschool is a private school. Some districts may want to give you a hard time, but you have every legal right to homeschool without their blessings.

do you have an advocate? I don't know what district you are in-but, at home you can not provide what the school district can (and obviously doesn't).
OK i see you are in TX-so, unfortunatly I cant give you advice....I'm in CA, and advocates are a blessing!

I'm not from TX but it looks like "ilovemykids" covered the legal stuff quite thoroughly. Go to http://www.thsc.org/Getting_Started/SpecialNeedsChildren.asp and see if you can find some answers there about your special needs. The beauty of homeschooling is you school to the individual child and they learn so much more quickly and with much less stress.

I would read "The Well Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise and also "So Your Thinking about Homeschooling" by Lisa Whelchel." "The Well Trained Mind" gives lots of curriculum reviews and lays out a step by step plan to give your children a classical education at home as well as covering some questions about testing, keeping transcripts, getting into college, etc. "So Your Thinking of Homeschooling" gives you a high level overview of many different ways to homeschool so you can determine what might appeal to you and your family. Of all the books I have read on homeschooling, I found these two to be the most helpful.

Chrystine A, are you serious when you say that a homeschool mom cannot provide all that the school system can? Do you homeschool? I did it for 10 years and I can honestly tell you that apples to apples my kids got everything a ps kid did and much much more.